welcome to bbc news. i'm vishala sri—pathma. our top stories: devastating tornadoes tear through america's south and midwest. at least 21 people are killed. more than 100,000 israelis demonstrate against a radical overhaul of thejudiciary. uproar as russia takes over the presidency of the un security council. ukraine calls it a slap in the face. translation: there is no form of terror that russia has not. already committed and there would be no reason why that would not stop the reform of global institutions, particularly the un security council. and, fancy footwear — we'll tell you about the huge convention in asia dedicated to the humble trainer.

hello and welcome to bbc news. authorities in the united states have been assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes. at least 21 people are now known to have died as the storms ripped through the south and the midwest, leaving a trail devastation. hardest hit were tennessee, arkansas and indiana. in illinois, one person was killed when a theatre roof collapsed. these pictures are of the storm passing a car in arkansas and, as you can see, the images speak for themselves. the bbc�*s sancha berg reports. dozens of storms and tornadoes left a trail of destruction, two of the fiercest touched down in the southern

state of arkansas. tearing off roofs, bringing down power lines, sweeping through homes with incredible force. the rate of pace and the volume of itjust seemed rather intense and it was extremely dangerous. it came through a set of double doors and ploughed through my house, out of my front door which has steel bars in the front of it. several people have been killed, dozens injured, in this state alone. the governor declared a state of emergency. i think the real story here isn't the damage that happened but it's the heroes that were born out of the tragedy and the fact that we have firefighters who despite the fact that they had a tornado literally coming through their station were worried about the community. that tells you who they are and it tells you, i think, a lot about our state. 600 miles to the north in belvidere, illinois, another storm hit.

the roof of the apollo theatre collapsed. one person has been killed, dozens injured. this latest destructive weather arrived just as president biden was visiting mississippi where he promised help to those hit by another tornado last week. sancha berg, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to katv chief meteorologist barry brandt, live from little rock. he told me how thousands were still without power in the state. the cleanup and the rescue efforts are cleaning up and it is starting to be a rebuilding effort. my home in west little rock was narrowly missed by this but we are still without power. we are in another house,

power is out for a broad swathe of the state, 32,000 customers, without power in arkansas, and about 100,000 outages in little rock and up into north little rock and right now roads are closed and folks are trying to make sense of the devastation in theirarea. there was a path at times about 1.3 miles wide and maximum winds of about 165 mph. many people without power. in terms of the scale of the damage, do you have any idea what that is right now? it was devastating in the path. it was 1.3 miles wide, a very strong storm, not at the top end of the enhanced fujita scale but a devastating tornado. we see those rarely here in arkansas but rarely do they come through in such

a heavily populated area such as little rock, the capital of the state. it is turned this city upside down. rock. a broad swathe through little rock and north little rock. 0ne fatality in north little rock and two fatalities near memphis. was there any warning at all that this may have been coming in the coming weeks or days? yes, for days we had been highlighting friday as a day where there would be a big outbreak of tornados. it was not a mystery that we would have severe storms. where do they develop? when they developed, they are what we call long—tracked tornados, and we see those out on the plains for sometimes but were out on the ground for miles and miles, sometimes 150 miles and this was this kind of atmosphere. the one that developed in little rock developed about 50 miles south—west. there was a warning on it. people were adequately warned for minutes, in the order of 30—110 minutes in advance. we knew this was a storm that

could produce a tornado, and indeed it did. it started to not be really a tornado producing—looking storm on radar until it got to little rock and then it rapidly intensified. the video from a number of cellphones was horrific. it was a horrible, horrible storm, but there was a lot of warning and for a city the size of little rock, no fatalities are reported, even as big as it was. that is positive news. yes. in terms of those people who are left homeless, in terms of the numbers, what do they do and where are they now what sort of help are they receiving? here in arkansas, we reach out to our neighbours so well. there are a number of shelters. a number of friends taking folks in. in both little rock and north little rock, shelters that are open, churches have come together to say "come here, we are

making food for you." electricity out for so many people but so many people were displaced. a lot of folks were injured and some hurt pretty badly but a lot of those have been treated and released and again no fatalities here so everybody is kind of taken care of tonight but electricity will take a long time coming and healing will be a long time coming. for the 13th week in a row, more than 100,000 israelis have held protests across the country against a radical judicial overhaul, despite the process having been put on hold by the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, earlier this week. talks have been initiated between the government and the opposition, but protest organisers fear legislation that would give the government control overjudicial appointments could still be brought to a vote. ican i can tell you that the ending will be that we will win because this is not something we can live with. we cannot

live in a state that is not democratic.— live in a state that is not democratic. , , ., , . democratic. these people, which came out here — democratic. these people, which came out here today _ democratic. these people, which came out here today to - democratic. these people, which came out here today to cry - democratic. these people, which came out here today to cry for. came out here today to cry for their_ came out here today to cry for their future, to fight for their_ their future, to fight for their future. they feel their future _ their future. they feel their future is _ their future. they feel their future is in danger. dov waxman is a professor of israel studies at the university of california in los angeles. thank you forjoining us. firstly, from a us point of view, we have heard president biden comment on those proposed reforms from prime minister benjamin netanyahu. do you think that few will have a sway on things? i think that few will have a sway on things?— on things? i doubt it, to be honest- — on things? i doubt it, to be honest. certainly, - on things? i doubt it, to be honest. certainly, the - on things? i doubt it, to be| honest. certainly, the biden administration have tried quietly to intervene and encourage benjamin netanyahu to seek compromise and slow down and when it vow they went public and president biden made some very direct comments and that received a fairly chilly

start response from benjamin netanyahu himself. the israeli government also which the —— which suggests the amount of intervention will not dissuade kayange from hisjudicial kayange from his judicial overhaul. kayange from his 'udicial overhaul.* kayange from his 'udicial overhaul. , ,, overhaul. despite the delays, we have seen _ overhaul. despite the delays, we have seen a _ overhaul. despite the delays, we have seen a large - overhaul. despite the delays, we have seen a large turnout| we have seen a large turnout here. what does that say in terms of how people are feeling about the way the process is going at the moment? == going at the moment? -- benjamin _ going at the moment? » benjamin netanyahu first of all it says that they don't trust benjamin netanyahu or the government to seek a compromise which they claim to be trying to do. they really suspect this is reallyjust an attempt to do. they really suspect this is really just an attempt to buy time and that the government still intends to push through its judicial overhaul at any cost and i think it demonstrates that the protest movement is determined, resilient and if anything, the pause that benjamin netanyahu announced has only encourage

them and energise the protesters because they see they are succeeding, festival, and bringing about a pause and they are hoping out to force they are hoping out to force the government to scrap its plans altogether. irefill the government to scrap its plans altogether.— the government to scrap its plans altogether. will they be successful— plans altogether. will they be successful in _ plans altogether. will they be successful in doing _ plans altogether. will they be successful in doing that - successful in doing that because in 13 weeks of protest, it will have an impact on the economy, on everyone's ordinary lives in israel, across cities. what i have impact?- lives in israel, across cities. what i have impact? that is the million-dollar _ what i have impact? that is the million-dollar question! - million—dollar question! despite all the warnings from economists, members of israel's security establishment, many experts and oversee the hundreds of thousands of israelis out on the streets, the benjamin netanyahu government seems determined to pursue the bed two judicial overhaul. if no other reason, the survival of his coalition is at stake, even if he wants to scrap the overhaul, his far

right coalition parties are really insisting that he pursue it. if he does listen to them, his coalition, he will lose government. he is really between a rock and a hard place and it suggests it will continue to try to push this through in about a month's time. ~ ., ., , , ., time. what will happen them two then for local _ time. what will happen them two then for local shops _ time. what will happen them two then for local shops - _ time. what will happen them two then for local shops - just - then for local shops — just what will happen then for shops, ordinary cities, what happens to the way of life then, if this continues? 13 weeks so far and it seems to be growing? weeks so far and it seems to be rarowin? �* , weeks so far and it seems to be uu�*rowin?, , �* growing? absolutely. and we will see more _ growing? absolutely. and we will see more chaos, - growing? absolutely. and we will see more chaos, as - growing? absolutely. and we will see more chaos, as we . growing? absolutely. and we l will see more chaos, as we saw earlier in the week there was a general strike. the real concern is what it will do for israel's army and particularly for the reserve soldiers that the israeli army has, many of whom have said will not show up for duty in court so it will not have an impact on day—to—day lives but a serious impact on israeli security and

the military readiness and that is something that really alarms the the security experts in israel but i don't think it makes any difference for this government who seemed determined to push ahead, whatever the cost.- determined to push ahead, whatever the cost. thank you forjoining — whatever the cost. thank you forjoining us. _ in russia, it has taken over the presidency of the un security council, in what ukraine says is a "slap in the face to the international community" because of the on—going war. the presidency is rotated among the council's 15 members every month, and the last time russia had the role, in february 2022, vladimir putin launched his invasion. ukraine's president vlodymyr zelensky said it showed the need for the institution to be reformed. earlier, we spoke to larry korb, a senior fellow at the center for american progress, and former united states assistant secretary of defense. the united states — president biden�*s press secretary, said, "we don't

like it but we hope that russia will behave responsibly during the next month" but as you mentioned, they were running the security council when the russians, you know, invaded ukraine illegally. and is there a bigger question here about the kind of relevancy, then, of this presidency position? yeah, i don't think it — because it rotates among all 15 members, including the people who — the other 11 people who are not part of the permanent, so you could have a very small country, you know, running it in the midst of a major — a major crisis. and in terms of the wider sort of sense of the kind of role or significance of the un security council, i mean, questions have been asked of this since the invasion of ukraine — do you think that's injeopardy at the moment?

well, you know, basically, the general assembly has had 140 countries vote to condemn the invasion. the security council couldn't do that because china and russia obviously were abstaining. so, ithink, basically, they have moved in that direction. the international criminal court — which is not technically part of the un — has indicted president putin, so they're doing what they can but you've got to remember when you've got great power politics, it's very hard for an international organisation to go against the wishes of any of the great powers. and from russia's point of view, i mean, are they going to be happy about this? well, you know, russia, you know, basically has vetoed all the resolutions that have come through the security council. they have vetoed about 2k resolutions in the last year, the chinese another ten, the united states, for example, only one. and so, in terms of what

happens in the future, do you think that will be sort of perhaps a review of the rules and regulations around this, because it's something that's been talked about for those reasons that you mentioned, for the vetoes of china and russia and the power they wield within the un security council? yeah, i mean, basically, what i think the russians are going to do is they're going to bring up the united states's invasion of iraq and say "we didn't condemn that. "that was illegal. "they, you know, didn't have a un support when they did it. "they invaded under false pretences," and i think they'll spend a month doing that. larry korb. thousands of people have taken to the streets of lisbon and other cities across portugal to protest against soaring rents and house prices at a time when inflation is making it even harder for people to make ends meet. the demonstrations were organised by the home to live movement and other groups, as shelley phelps reports. taking to the streets

to protest against the housing crisis. government data shows more than half of workers in portugal earn less than 1000 euros a month while the average rent for a one—bed flat in the tourist hot spot of lisbon is nearly 1400. and with costs continuing to rise, those here say they're facing an impossible situation. with my salary, which is higher than the salary average in lisbon, i cannot afford renting a flat because it's too expensive. the prices went up so much in the near — in the last year. the rental and housing issue in lisbon, i think, is the worst — the worst situation in the city, than other cities in europe. many share stories of their struggle to access housing but the situation is particularly challenging for young people. translation: people who, for example, work and are l homeless, students whose lives come to a halt and maybe can't study at the university they choose, people who are evicted because

of their houses turned into short—term accommodations for tourists. last month, the portuguese government announced plans to end its golden visa scheme for investors and to ban new airbnb rentals in urban areas, but critics say it's not enough. translation: to beginj with, we are here to say that the government's measures do not convince us, and there is a huge housing crisis here today. this is a social emergency and the government seems to remain unaware of this huge crisis, given its implements measures that will mainly benefit the real estate sector. those here say they're determined to keep banging the drum for change. shelley phelps, bbc news. this is bbc news. a reminder of our top stories — a series of devastating tornadoes have torn through america's south and midwest. at least 21 people are killed. for the 13th week in a row, tens of thousands of israelis have demonstrated against a radical overhaul of thejudiciary.

in iran, a hardline member of parliament has given the judiciary an ultimatum to come up with measures to put a stop to women flouting the rules on headscarves. his comments come despite months of mass protests demanding an end to the restriction. parham ghobadi from the bbc persian service has the story. scenes like these were unimaginable seven months ago in iran. women refusing to wear the hijab in public. videos obtained by bbc persian show women floating the islamic —— flouting the islamic the dress code at a sports complex in tehran on friday. it's not only women — he would also have been arrested for wearing shorts in public a few months ago. the young iranian generation is fearless. they don't want to dance to the tune of the clerical establishment. and it's not only

in capital, tehran. this was sent to us from hormuz island in southern iran, in the persian gulf. and this is the central city of isfahan and here, in this western town, these girls are barred from entering a tourist attraction because they have no hijab. such acts of defiance has infuriated the hardliners. here, a man warns a girl who is not wearing a headscarf. he then hits both women in the head with a yoghurt bucket. the iranianjudiciary said all three were arrested. many critics say hardliners like him are emboldened due to a statement by the iranian interior ministry published on thursday.

but enforcing the hijab is not that easy any more after months of protests following the death of a kurdish girl, mahsa amini, in police custody in september. iranian security forces killed over 500 protesters, according to rights groups. despite the deadly crackdown, it would seem there is no going back for iranian women. parham ghobadi, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the abbot of ukraine's most important monastery has been placed under house arrest for two months. he's been accused of backing russia's invasion of ukraine, as well as inciting religious hatred. he will have to remain in a village south—west of kyiv and wear an electronic bracelet, but denies the allegations. the wall streetjournal has demanded the immediate release of their journalist, evan gershkovich, who was detained in russia last week. the us paper said his case went against the idea of a free press. russia has accused mr gershkovich of spying but the wall streetjournal

denies the allegations. a court in romania has agreed to allow the controversial social media influencer andrew tate to leave prison and move into house arrest. the british—american former kickboxer is being investigated for a number of crimes, all of which he denies. lucy williamson reports. the police have been here to the tate compound a couple of times already today. it's day one of house arrest for the tate brothers and the police have come to check they're on the premises, as they're supposed to be. the judge has said they have to stay in this building for 30 days, until the end of april, but the tates' spokeswoman said the brothers are nonetheless ecstatic to be out of police custody and that there aren't that many restrictions on them while they are under house arrest. they can have visitors into the compound, they can post material online, and they can also talk to the media — although, as you can see, today the media's being kept out here in the rain for the moment. these gates have remained

largely shut today, apart from a few comings and goings. but if you look through the gaps, you can see that life is continuing pretty much as it did before. inside the lobby here looks a little bit like the set of a tv show. there's a swimming pool and a small gym. there used to be a fleet of luxury cars but they've now all gone — they've been impounded by the romanian authorities. here at the end of the street, there are large areas that are undeveloped — really, just wasteland. and we also now know that some of those luxury cars inside this compound didn't belong to the tate brothers themselves — they were leased from a car rental company. all of that gives a slightly different impression to the one they gave in their videos online. lucy williamson reporting. finns are heading to the polls on sunday with three party leaders all vying to become the country's next prime minister. 0pinion polls suggest it'll be a tight race with sanna marin, who became the world's youngest premier at 3a back in 2019, battling to stay in power.

finland is on the verge of formallyjoining nato, and this election will determine who'll actually lead it into the alliance. ms marin campaigned to voters at a rally in the capital, helsinki, on saturday. the situation is very tight. we have three parties that are — any of these three parties can win tomorrow and, of course, we hope that we will enter and continue our work that we have been doing for the last four years. and finally, whether you call them trainers, sneakers or sports shoes, they're big business, making up a $70 billion industry. now, singapore is hosting a convention all about them — the first of its kind in southeast asia. tim allman reports. bass riff from these boots are made for walkin' by nancy sinatra plays. they're notjust footwear —

they are a way of life. # you keep sayin�* you've got something for me. hundreds of millions of trainers are sold every year, worn by the athletically inclined and those who are less so. # these boots are made for walkin�*. # and that's just what they'll do. # one of these days # these boots are gonna walk all over you. where there's money, there's always a convention, and this one is happening in singapore. 0rganisers say around 15,000 people were in attendance, getting a kick out of their kicks. we have people here from indonesia, thailand, brunei, malaysia. it's a really amazing thing to see sneakerheads unite from around the region to gather for this event. sneaker con is a global phenomenon, travelling to more

than 20 cities worldwide. this stop was originally scheduled for 2020 but then, covid happened. if they're making up for lost time, there may be no better place to do it. there's a lot of attention in asia right now and, like, there are a lot of, like, collaborations happening with asian sneaker designers and it's amazing where it's become, you know? # are you ready, boots? # start walkin'! next stop for sneaker con is the united states — the spiritual home of the modern sports shoe. this is an industry with big ambitions and its advice for anyone thinking of buying a pair of trainers — just do it. tim allman, bbc news. that's it from us for now. you can reach me on my socials, instagram and twitter.

i'm @bbcvishalasp. in the meantime, thank you very much for watching. we will be back soon. hello. saturday was a brighter day for some than for others and across the east coast of england and eastern scotland, brightness was in short supply. cloud and a brisk breeze in stonehaven keeping temperatures pegged back to five degrees celsius but parts of south wales saw highs of 15 with a little bit of sunshine and i'm hopeful that on sunday, more of us will get to see some spells of sunshine — certainly, a drier and brighter day overall because high pressure is going to be building its way in, squeezing out a lot of the cloud, also squeezing out much of the rain. there mayjust be a bit of dampness first thing, particularly in the north—west of scotland. across scotland, northern ireland, parts of wales and south—west england, i think we will keep some areas of cloud through the day but, generally speaking, some good spells of sunshine, certainly

a brighter and less chilly day for north sea coasts — temperatures of nine or ten degrees. highest temperatures out towards the west — 12 for belfast and cardiff, 13 degrees in plymouth. and then, as we head through sunday night with those clear skies overhead, temperatures will drop. it is going to be a colder night than we've been used to of late. quite widely, i think we'll see a touch of frost. the temperatures you see here are for the town and city centres. minus one there in the centre of birmingham. some spots in the countryside will get colder than that, so a chilly start to monday. but at this time of year, the sun has got some strength to it, so once the sun comes up, the frost will lift and the temperatures will start to climb. good spells of sunshine through the day. this frontal system trying to push into northern ireland. it may introduce more cloud here later in the day, turning the sunshine rather hazy. temperatures ten to 13 degrees. now, into tuesday, i think we will see a weather front bringing cloud and some patchy rain into northern ireland and scotland, particularly western scotland. best of the sunshine will be

found across england and wales. temperatures there in liverpool perhaps up to 1a degrees, which won't feel too bad at all if you do get sunshine overhead. now, the middle part of the week will bring frontal systems in from the north—west. that will introduce some outbreaks of rain, particularly across the north—west of the uk. it is likely that high pressure will hold on further south and east, so there won't be a huge amount of rain here and, actually, for the end of the week and the start of the easter weekend, at this stage, it looks mostly dry.

this is bbc news. the headlines: authorities in the us are assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes across states in the south and midwest. at least 21 people in six states have been confirmed dead. tennessee, arkansas and illinois were hardest hit. more than 100,000 israelis have been protesting againstjudicial reforms for the 13th week in a row. they gathered despite a pause in the process announced earlier this week. in tel aviv, there were scuffles between protesters and counter—demonstrators. ukraine has condemned russia's assumption of the rotating presidency of the un security council as a "slap in the face to the international community". ukraine's foreign minister urged council members to thwart any russian attempts to abuse the position. the presidency is largely ceremonial although it oversees the agenda.